


One Season Following Another

by Stahlop



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: CSSS2020, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, christmas-ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:34:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28296864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stahlop/pseuds/Stahlop
Summary: The completely gobsmacked look on his face when she pulled away told her all she knew. Killian Jones was completely in love with her. And by the beating of her own heart, she knew she was in love with him. Except, that scared the shit out of her. So naturally, instead of declaring her love or letting him declare his, she blurted out “Friends-with-benefits!”
Relationships: Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan
Comments: 7
Kudos: 67
Collections: CSSS2020





	One Season Following Another

**Author's Note:**

  * For [teeandrainbows](https://archiveofourown.org/users/teeandrainbows/gifts).



> Happy Holidays teeandrainbows! It is I, your Secret Santa. I hope you enjoy this friends to friends with benefits to lovers Captain Swan fic. It didn't end up as Christmasy as I intended, and some angst sneaked in there as well. But everything works out just in time for Christmas (of course). Enjoy.
> 
> Thank you to elizabeethan for being my beta.

It is hot. Too hot. Even with the thin sheet over her and that she was only sleeping in underwear and a tank top, it is too darn hot.

  
Dammit. Now she’s going to have that song in her head (thanks college drama class that she took years ago and those musical numbers that still pop up occasionally).

Wait, what was she thinking about again? Oh yeah, it is too hot.

And the living furnace pressing up against her back isn’t helping at all.

“Killian,” Emma moans as she tries to throw his arm off of her. He puts it back where it was and nuzzles into her tighter.

“Killian,” she tries again, but his hand is not moving.“It’s too hot.” She’s resorted to whining now.

Instead of answering, he uses his lips to press searing kisses onto her shoulders, his scruff tickling her in just the right way. One hand is now creeping up underneath her tank top while the other is heading in the other direction, cupping her sex over her underwear. Heat is rising throughout her body and it has nothing to do with the temperature.

“Killian,” she pouts as he turns her to face him. “I’m all sweaty.” But instead of being disgusted, he pops his eyebrow and gives her a seductive grin. 

“Not even close yet,” he mumbles into the tops of her breasts, his hot breath not helping the situation. “Besides, if you’d just turn on the air conditioning, you wouldn’t be so hot.” He’s pushed her tank top up above her breasts now, the fabric feeling like it’s choking her so close to her neck.

“Hold on,” she sits up and shifts her position so that she can grip the sides of her top and yank it over her head. The slight coolness that comes with taking off the thin tank top is gone just as quickly as Killian immediately takes her breasts in his overly warm hands. Emma winces at his touch.

Killian chuckles as he takes a nipple into his mouth. “Air conditioning,” he repeats.

“It’s only March,” Emma gasps as his teeth scrape against the sensitive buds. “It’s too early for air conditioning.” His lips kiss over to her other nipple, taking the dusky bud into his mouth, sucking and licking until it’s as hard as its double.

“Where’s your fan?” he asks as his lips start heading down toward her belly. His chest hair, which Emma normally loves, feels like it’s leaving a trail of his sweat down her body, and not in a good way.

“In storage,” Emma answers, as if it should be obvious. Why, oh why, couldn’t Killian have been here to keep her warm last week when they’d had the Blizzard of the Century (as all the new stations were dubbing it), and despite her heater, it was still freezing in her apartment? 

“Then stop complaining and enjoy this,” he says as his lips kiss her through her underwear.

“Oh shit!” she screams and grabs onto his deep brown locks. He pulls her underwear down and licks a stripe up her slit. Emma is so overheated now that she feels as though she could melt into her bed. The air is getting stifling, but she wouldn’t stop Killian if her life depended on it. Not with that tongue. That tongue which is currently fucking her senseless while his thumb has found it’s way to her clit.

“Fuck...Killian...Fuck!” Her orgasm, which had been building nice and slow, has hit her without warning. Her whole body seizes up as the pleasure courses through her. Killian stokes her clit through it and she can hear him telling her what a good girl she is and how beautiful she is when she comes. When she finally comes down from her high she hears the crinkle of the condom wrapper as he throws it into the garbage can on the side of her bed. She sees through her barely open eyes as he slides it down over his very impressive length (she admits to being thoroughly surprised that his ego actually matched his cock), and then without any warning, he slides into her warm and waiting cunt.

Emma meets him thrust for thrust as she wraps her hands around his ass. The tight ass she’d always noticed even before they’d become...whatever this is. God he feels so good inside her. She loves the stretch from his cock. It hits places she barely knew existed before.

Another orgasm starts building down below, but Emma can tell that Killian is close, closer than she is, and she knows he’d feel horrible if he came before her. She snakes her hand down between them and rubs her clit to speed things up.

“I’m almost there, Swan, almost…” He comes almost a split second before she does, her other hand gripping his buttcheek tighter as her orgasm overtakes her. Killian collapses in a sweaty heap on top of her, and despite how good she feels, she’s even hotter after that little sexual escapade.

“Killian, it’s too hot. Get off,” she grumbles, trying to push his overheated body off of hers. They’re both sweaty messes and instead of basking in the afterglow, all Emma feels is their slimy sweat mingling

“I already got off, love,” he says cheekily as he flops over to the other side of the bed.

Emma immediately gets out of the bed, the air now rent with the smell of sex. She feels like she just ran a marathon instead of having morning sex. “I’m going to take a shower,” she tells him as she grabs her towel and robe from where they’re hung on the door. He nods and grabs his phone, scrolling down, most likely checking his work emails.

Emma takes a slightly chilly shower, which helps to cool her down significantly. She notices faint bruises and even beard burn when she’s braiding her hair in front of the mirror after she’s done,all signs of the great sex they had. Emma sighs as she realizes that she and her best friend have clearly moved to also being friends with benefits.

That’s what this has to be, because he doesn’t live here in Boston. He still lives in their hometown of Storybrooke, Maine. She’d moved out of their small town the first chance she got, right when she got out of college. He comes to Boston every three months for the Quarterly Meetings his company holds. At first, he took the hotel accommodations that his company provided, but Emma had thought that was stupid since she lived here. And it has been all well and good for the past year. They’d hang out after his meetings and her work, order take out, veg out in front of the television and go to bed (yes, they shared a bed, but it has always been strictly platonic).

And then last night happened.

Emma isn’t even sure how it happened. They’d watched movies with sex scenes in it before, they’d watched sexy movies before. Hell, they’d watched 50 Shades of Grey and made fun of it the whole time (while also learning that apparently Killian didn’t mind being tied up). Emma didn’t know why The Thomas Crowne Affair had been any different, but somehow they’d ended up snuggling during the movie, and then he’d started playing with the ends of her hair, and her hand had ended up playing with his chest hair because Killian didn’t understand what buttons were for, and then he’d kissed the top of her head, and then she kissed him. Just sat up, pulled him to her by his collar, and experienced the most passionate kiss she’d ever had in her life.

The completely gobsmacked look on his face when she pulled away told her all she knew. Killian Jones was completely in love with her. And by the beating of her own heart, she knew she was in love with him. Except, that scared the shit out of her. So naturally, instead of declaring her love or letting him declare his, she blurted out “Friends-with-benefits!” (She pretended not to see the disappointed look on his face that he then schooled a half second later).

“I mean, it makes sense. You only come out here four times a year and I can barely do a regular relationship let alone a long-distance one.” She had risen off the couch and was now pacing back and forth at her justification. “And it just makes sense, right?” She had turned to him, almost pleading with him to agree. Instead of answering, Killian had stood up and kissed her senseless before hauling her over his shoulder and bringing her to the bedroom.

And now they are here. The next morning. And more sex. And Emma is standing in front of her mirror not freaking out about the turn of events (she really isn’t even though she really should be).

She puts on her silk robe and heads out to her bedroom, expecting Killian to still be laying in her bed. His flight isn’t until this afternoon, but he’s not there, and she feels...disappointed. Not that she was expecting another round of sex (it’s still too hot despite the cold shower she just took), but she does like looking at him stretched out with his body on display.

“Coffee’s on!” she hears from the other room.

She pads out to the kitchen to see Killian wearing only low-slung sweats (lower than she’s ever seen him wear them) and pouring coffee for the two of them.

“Come, love.” He says with an almost salacious grin. “Let’s have some coffee and then get breakfast.” It’s their normal routine. It just feels different after the events of last night and this morning.

And everything is completely normal. So normal it almost unnerves Emma. They go to breakfast and they have their normal conversations. She tells him about some of the more unusual cases she’s had at the police station and he tells her about some of the more drunken antics from the parties on his harbor cruises. She tells him about her friends in Boston and he updates her on the gossip back in Storybrooke. It isn’t what she expected at all. She expected more lewd comments, innuendos, and lustful stares. But it’s just normal Emma and Killian banter. 

Emma’s not sure how she feels about that.

She sees him off when she drops him off at the airport. She almost expects him to steal a kiss or cop a feel before he gets out of her car, but he just grabs her hand and kisses her knuckles before grabbing his carry on from the back seat.

“Until the summer, Swan,” Killian says, his blue eyes looking almost black as he stares at her.

“Until the summer,” Emma repeats, practically stuttering. 

She watches his tight ass as he saunters towards the airport doors.

And she’s hot again, and it has nothing to do with the temperature outside.

  
  


\-----------------

He’s back at Emma’s apartment for the summer quarterly meeting. It’s much cooler than the last time he was there, what with the air conditioning actually on and the large fan out of storage.

He was nervous the whole plane ride over, scared that things would just go back to normal. 

Killian still can’t believe that they ended up finally cutting through the sexual tension that had been surrounding them for years on his last visit. After Emma had moved to Boston he was sure that they’d do what all best friends did when one of them left their hometown: they’d grown apart. But somehow, somehow they’d become closer. He’d jumped at the chance to attend his company’s boring-as-hell quarterly meetings when he’d discovered the East Coast meetings took place in Boston. It was his chance to make sure he saw his Swan at least four times a year.

He admits, it did take him quite a bit of time to realize he was in love with her after she’d left. He’d always assumed they’d grow old together in their tiny little town, but until Emma actually left, Killian didn’t realize how much of a hole she’d left in his heart. When she kissed him after watching a highly sexually charged movie last time….well, he didn’t think his heart could take it if he were to never be able to kiss those lips again, or feel her body close to his. Even if he has to engage in her ridiculous notion of being friends-with-benefits instead of something else.

Emma comes in the door behind him. She’s dressed in jean shorts, that barely cover her creamy legs, and a red spaghetti strap top that makes her breasts look fabulous. 

“My eyes are up here, Killian.” She says in a mocking tone while rolling her eyes, but she’s also smiling so he knows she’s playing with him. 

And he wants to play with her.

Killian takes two steps towards her and raises his hands on either side of her, boxing her body against the door. The vanilla and cinnamon notes of her body spray on top of her natural scent is intoxicating.

“Killian,” she says rather surprised, and for a second Killian wonders if the last time was only meant to be a one time (technically two time) thing. But then she’s leaning forward up on her toes and she’s capturing his lips with hers and Killian’s heart is soaring because he’s been dreaming about having her again for the past three months. Every phone call, every text. He’d been so tempted to ask her what she was wearing, tell her how hard he was, confess his feelings for her, but he knew the ball had to be in her court for anything outside of Boston.

“Are you trying to kill me with that outfit, love?” he asks, ghosting his lips over hers as he takes the strap of her top in his fingers. “The second I saw you in the airport I just wanted to take you right then and there with all this skin on display.” He moves his lips down her neck and Emma makes the most delicious sound he’s ever heard outside of when she comes. “Is that a sensitive spot right there?” he asks in a way that he knows will annoy her (in a good way of course). Emma seems to have trouble forming words as he slides his hands up and down the sides of her body, so she nods her head.

Killian continues his path down her neck to one of her bare shoulders, slipping the strap off, and making wet circles with his tongue. Emma has kicked off her flip flops and has already hoisted one leg up around his looking for friction. He grabs her thigh and smiles against her shoulder. “Need something, Swan?” he asks innocently.

“Just you,” she whines, desperately grinding against him.

“Turn around, love,” he growls into her ear.

It’s fast and hard once he gets her tiny shorts and the scrap of what he supposes passes for underwear down her legs. As she kicks them away, he pulls a condom from his back pocket before losing his pants and boxer briefs as well. After he covers his extremely hard shaft with the condom, he pulls Emma toward him so that his cock rests in her dripping wet folds. 

“Oh, Swan, you’re so fucking wet for me,” he whispers as he bites her earlobe. He’d come to the realization last time that Emma really enjoyed his dirty talk while they were together. Normally she scoffed at all his innuendos, but when they were actually fucking, it turned her on immensely. He spreads her legs apart and bends her over slightly for a better angle, before guiding his cock into her sweet warmth.

“Fuck,” they both sigh at the same time. Killian relishes the feel of her around his cock as he starts to slide in out of her. He already knows he’s not going to last long, not as hard up as he’s been just thinking about her and the last time he was here. He braces one hand against the door and starts rubbing her clit with the other.

“Oh, god!” Emma moans as her head falls back onto his shoulder.

“Killian will do,” he smirks into the top of her hair. He knows if she wasn’t in this position she’d probably be rolling her eyes at him. He slides in and out of her, her slick heat feeling so good against his cock. If he could just live in this moment forever, inside his Emma, her shining blonde hair tickling his nose and the wonderful noises she’s making...god he would die a happy man.

“Killian, I’m gonna come,” Emma screams. “Fuck!” She grabs his hair from behind her as her whole body seizes up and her legs begin to give way. He holds onto her through it before releasing himself into the condom, and then they’re both on the floor, a mass of bodies and limbs. Emma looks a little shell shocked as she turns and looks at him, and then they both just burst out laughing.

“Are you okay?” Emma asks him, barely able to breathe she’s laughing so hard. “Did you hurt anything?” she asks, glancing downward.

“Just my pride,” he says, a little embarrassed. That’s what they get for fucking against the front door, he supposes. He scratches the back of his neck, a nervous habit he’s had for as long as he can remember, and Emma takes her hand and pushes a bit of his fringe out of his eyes.

“It’s good to see you, Killian.” She smiles her most genuine smile at him. The one she reserves just for him. Not the one that doesn’t reach her eyes when she’s back home that masks her insecurities. He’s the only one that’s managed to unlock that smile in all the years he’s known her.

He kisses her lightly on the lips. “You too, Swan.” 

\-------

The bar is crowded as Emma makes her way through it. She didn’t want to go out tonight. It had been a tough case at work and all Emma had wanted to do was go back to her apartment, do a final clean through before Killian arrives tomorrow, and sleep. But her partner, Lily, insists that they needed to unwind after the events of that day. She finds her at a high-top table already sipping a glass of red wine, her dark brown hair down around her shoulders rather than the tight ponytail she keeps it in for work. It makes her look softer. Of course, Lily says the same about Emma when she wears her hair down, which she didn’t do for this bar outing.

“That guy over there is checking you out.” Lily says, her eyes darting towards the bar. Emma turns slightly to look. The guy isn’t bad looking, but all she can do is compare him to Killian. His hair is lighter, it’s not as long, he’s clean-shaven. She turns back to Lily and sips her rum and coke and shrugs.

“What’s up with you?” Lily asks. 

“I don’t know what you mean,” Emma says, trying to avoid where she knows this conversation is heading. There’s a reason why she and Lily are great at interrogating witnesses and Emma really doesn’t want this to continue any further.

“You know exactly what I mean. There is a hot guy at the bar who keeps looking at you and you won’t even give him the time of day.”

Emma takes another sip of her drink, frustration at Lily washing over her. “Look, I’m tired, Lily. Killian’s coming tomorrow and--”

“Are you and Killian a thing?” Lily asks with all the subtlety of a bull in a china shop. Emma practically chokes on her drink.

“What? Why would you ask that? We’re just friends.” The words sound rushed and hollow to her ears. There is no way Lily, who can detect when someone is lying by the faintest uptick in their voice (it’s why they work so well since she can detect lies in someone’s face), will believe her in the slightest. Lily just glares at her and sighs. Emma immediately crumbles.

“We’re not a...thing.” Lily raises an eyebrow, clearly not believing a word she’s saying. “We’re not!” Emma says defensively. “We’re...friends-with-benefits?” She finishes her drink and singles the server passing by that she’d like another one. She’s definitely going to need more alcohol to get through this conversation with Lily. The woman is like a bloodhound when she’s sniffing out information, another thing that makes her such a good partner.

“Are you asking me if you’re friends-with-benefits with Killian, or asking yourself?” Lily smirks at her. Emma takes a sip of the drink that the server has just placed in front of her.

“I...We…” Emma huffs in annoyance. All she’d wanted to do was go home and get ready for Killian’s arrival tomorrow, not get the third degree from Lily. “It would never work,” she finally says. blowing out air in defeat.

“Why?” 

“It just wouldn’t!” Emma huffs again. Lily gives her a look that says she clearly doesn’t buy that excuse. “We don’t even live in the same city,” she says feebly.

“How long has then been going on?” 

“Since March. Everytime he comes in for his quarterly meetings. But it’s just sex,” Emma is quick to argue. “I don’t want to ruin our friendship by trying to make a relationship out of this.”

Lily seems to contemplate this while she takes a sip of her wine. Emma relaxes just a touch, hoping that this is the end of this particular conversation. She’s actually about to make her excuses when Lily pipes up again. 

“Are you only having sex and not speaking when he’s back home?” Lily looks at her pointedly. Emma can only imagine the bewilderment that must be on her face at that question.

“What? Of course not. We’re friends.”

“Are either of you dating when he’s not in town?” Lily continues.

“I never date, Lily. I only do one nighters, you know that.” Emma’s really getting annoyed with Lily’s questions and she desperately needs another drink already. It’s just turned to fall but the heat has persisted and she’s wishing she had changed from the long sleeved shirt she’d put on that morning when it had been chilly because she’s sweating now. Although that may be from all of Lily’s questions. “And as far as I know, Killian isn’t dating anyone either,” she mumbles.

“So, you hang out when he’s in town, you talk and text,” Emma nods, “neither of you are dating anyone else, and now you’ve added sex into the mix. Am I missing anything?” Emma doesn’t answer, but she can already see the smirk forming on Lily’s face. “I’m sorry to tell you this, Emma, but you and Killian are in a relationship.”

A cold chill rolls through Emma’s body as if ice is running through her veins. She knows Lily is right, she can’t even deny it. But the very thought of the word ‘relationship’ still makes her want to run. One night stands, she can handle. Friends-with-benefits, she can handle. But an actual honest-to-god relationship with the one person in the world who knows her the best and could destroy her if things went south... that she can’t handle.

So she continues lying to herself. And to Lily.

“No. It’s not a relationship. We are friends who fuck every few months. And that’s it.” Lily gives her that god damn look again. “Besides, you know I’d fuck it up. I couldn’t handle losing Killian.”

Lily sighs and takes Emma’s hand. It’s an odd gesture from her. Though they are partners, they aren’t usually touchy-feely with each other. Even this ‘girl talk’ they are currently having is slightly out of character for them. “Emma, how long have you and Killian been friends?”

Emma doesn’t even need to think about it. She’s been friends with him ever since she moved to Storybrooke when she was thirteen. When the Nolan’s took her in and they became the last foster family she lived with. And while they never formally adopted her, they were her parents in every way that mattered. Killian lived next door and they became inseparable pretty much right off the bat. “Fifteen years.”

“And in those fifteen, how many times have you fucked things up?” Lily questions. 

“I’ve fucked up a lot of times,” she stares into her drink. Emma knows exactly where she’s going with this.

“And yet Killian is still here and still your friend. A friend who you’ve never once brought to the precinct, I might add.” Emma flags the server down for another. 

“I don’t like to mix work and my personal life.”

“Bullshit, Emma!” Lily spits out at her. “Bull. Shit! You’re scared to death of what a relationship with Killian could be like. You’re so scared that you don’t even recognize that you’ve been in a relationship with him for years. And from what I can tell, Killian is going along with this inane friends-with-benefit scheme of yours because he’s just as in love with you as you are with him and he’ll do anything to make you happy.” She pauses to take a sip of her wine. “As far as I can see, the only one with the potential to get hurt in this scenario is Killian when you inevitably decide to run.” Lily drains the last of her wine, and the server decides to drop off Emma’s drink right at that moment. Emma is rooted to her stool. Lily’s never spoken to her like this, and she can’t even refute a single word because Emma knows she’s one-hundred percent right.

“Drinks are on me tonight,” Lily says as she hops down. “You have some thinking to do tonight.” Emma watches her as she leaves the bar. She walks right past the guy who was checking her out earlier and slips him what is hopefully Lily’s number and not hers. She turns back to the now unappealing drink, her stomach in knots. Lily’s right, of course. She is in love with Killian. And Killian’s in love with her. She’s known both facts for quite some time now. And Killian’s been with her through everything. There’s no way he’d leave her. So why is she still so scared?

She needs to be brave. She resolves to tell Killian her feelings when he comes to town tomorrow. That’s the plan anyway.

That’s not what ends up happening.

\-----

Killian absolutely hates the Winter Quarter Meeting. For some reason his company insists on having their quarterly meetings the exact weeks that the seasons change. Having a quarterly meeting four days before Christmas is the worst. He hated navigating the airport this time of year. Too many people for his taste. It’s made even more worse by the fact that he and Emma seem to be in a weird place after the last time he was in town. He’s not exactly sure what happened, but it was like she wasn’t fully there the entire time. They still went out, like they usually did, but she had very little to talk about. They still watched movies together, but she wasn’t into making fun of them like they usually did. They still had sex, but it wasn’t the hot and heavy, passionate sex they’d had the past few times. It wasn’t even sweet and slow making love type style. It was almost mechanical. He knew something was wrong no matter how many ‘fines’ she threw at him. He’d been able to read her like a book since the day they’d met. He just didn’t know what was happening with her. And it scared the hell out of him, because he felt like he was losing her.

He gets into an Uber outside the airport. He’s glad he didn’t have to wait long. It’s freezing out, and while he is wearing weather appropriate outerwear, waiting outside in it is never fun. Emma had to work and was unable to pick him up at the airport like usual. He’s still not sure if she intentionally didn’t ask off from work or if she really does have a big case she can’t take off from. She told him where she hid her extra key (in a fake plant right off the elevator, which he told her seems careless for a police officer), and told him to make himself at home until she got back. She’d bring Chinese for dinner.

Her apartment is dark when he enters, with just a faint glow of her tiny Christmas tree standing in the corner of her living room. It’s the fake kind with lights already put on it, and it barely hits the top of her dining room table. She’d bought it in college and Killian had teased her mercilessly about it, considering her parents had always had the perfect Christmas tree and the perfect decorations. Killian hadn’t even bought a tree this year, as he would be here for a few days, and then planned on flying out on Christmas Eve to make it back to his brother’s house for the actual day. He wasn’t even sure if Emma had wanted him to stay for the actual holiday, and he just couldn’t bring himself to ask her.

Even after he’d left the last time, their phone calls and texts were different. Her comments were short and terse and she always had to go do something after about five minutes. Somehow he was losing his best friend and he didn’t know how to fix it. So now he was sitting in her dark apartment (of course he flew in on the shortest day of the year), sipping on rum that he’d found in her liquor cabinet (and not the good kind she usually bought when he would come to town), contemplating how to fix whatever was going on with them. Because it was getting dark so early, he didn’t even realize she was an hour past when she was supposed to be home until the knock came at the door. 

He wonders if she’d locked herself out, or maybe her hands are too full with the take out. He starts to rise, a salacious comment on his lips about needing a hand when he hears his name from the other side of the door.

“Killian?” He doesn’t recognize it.

“Are you in there?” It was a female voice, Killian has no idea who it is or how they know to look for him at Emma’s apartment.

“It’s about Emma.” The voice sounds worried and exhausted. It made Killian run to the door.

A woman about Emma’s height with dark hair is standing on the other side. Her face is pinched, as though she might start crying at any second, but turns to one of relief as she sees him on the other side of the door.

“Oh thank goodness you’re here.” She says. “I’m Lily, Emma’s partner.” And just like that, Killian is frozen in place. If Lily is here and Emma isn’t, she can’t be bringing good news.

“May I?” She asks, as if he owns the place and needs to give her permission to come in. But he nods anyway. Killian offers her the love seat while he takes a seat at one of the bar stools, but Lily just shakes her head and starts talking.

“It wasn’t supposed to be a big deal. We were just meeting a CI, confidential informant. Um...it was just supposed to be a few questions and then we were done. Somehow, someone must have been tipped off about our meet, because he didn’t show, and there were bullets flying.” The tears she’d been trying to stave off have started slipping down her cheeks now. There is a churning in Killian’s stomach. He’s hoping against hope that this doesn’t end the way he thinks it’s going to end. Lily must see the worry on his face, the tears threatening to spill from his eyes. The way he’s sure his face has gone ashen. 

“Oh my god, I’m sorry, she’s okay. She’s fine.” Warmth refills him at this revelation and he couldn’t stop the tears from falling if he wanted to. She gives him a big hug. It’s comforting, but definitely not the woman’s arms he wants to be in.

“She’s in the hospital,” Lily says, answering the unasked question. “She was shot in the chest --through and through-- broke her arm, has a few cuts and bruises, and she’s really not happy about having to stay for observation overnight. She sent me to get you, to bring you there.” Killian raises an eyebrow at this. Just moments ago he wasn’t sure if Emma even wanted him in his life anymore, and now she’s sending her partner to bring him to the hospital.

“I know you think she doesn’t want to see you, but she’s just been doing a lot of thinking. And I’m actually partially to blame for how she was the last time you were in town.” Apparently Lily is also a mind reader. “Just, come with me to the hospital. I’ll even put the lights on.” He gives a small smile to acknowledge the lame joke, grabs a pair of pajamas from Emma’s room, and follows the brunette to her squad car.

He expects Emma to look small hooked up to what looks like dozens of wires with machines all around her. But she doesn’t. 

She looks pissed as hell. 

Her left arm is in a black cast and matching sling. She’s got a cut above her left eye and what looks like the beginning of a shiner beneath it. 

“Hey stranger,” Emma says as he stands in the doorway. He hesitates to go in. He wants her permission first. He doesn’t want to intrude if Lily is wrong.

‘Hey beautiful,” he says in a strained voice. The tears have come again. He’s trying his best to keep them from falling. He knows she’s strong, but he needs to be strong for her as well.

“Come. Sit,” she says softly. She nods her head over toward the most uncomfortable looking chair he’s ever seen. The hospital really doesn’t seem overly friendly towards visitors. He sits anyway. Yep, his visual assessment was correct. He wishes he could sit on her right side so he could hold her hand, reassure her with caresses from his fingers, but, unfortunately, it seems every machine known to mankind is on her right side, so the left side is where he has to sit. He brushes her hair from her face instead, gives her a small kiss on her temple careful not to graze the cut.

“Killian,” 

“Emma,” they both say at the same time. They laugh softly before she catches his eyes. The green shining with unshed tears.

“Please, Killian, let me go first,” Emma pleads, and then adds, “I am the one who just got shot.” He chuckles at her display of vulnerability and humor.

“You have the floor, milady. Or rather, the bed.” 

“I’m so sorry for the way I acted the last time you were in town, Killian.” Emma’s voice trembles. “I have no excuse except,” she takes in a deep breath to get out the next part, “that I love you and I was too afraid to let you know.” The tears she’s been holding back now fall freely upon her cheeks. “And I’m sorry it took me getting shot to tell you,” she adds.

Killian’s heart soars. She loves him! It’s all he’s ever wanted to hear from her. And he can’t believe she said it first.

“Well, darling. It’s a good thing I love you too.” He gives her his most suggestive look, eyebrow raised, lecherous smirk. She laughs at him.

“God, you’re such a dork. Don’t make me laugh please, I was still shot.”

He stays for Christmas.

It’s a small affair as neither of them had planned on him staying (and the fact that she’d only been discharged from the hospital a few days previous). They order Chinese, watch bad Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel, and exchange gifts. Killian gives her a stuffed swan he found in the hospital gift shop. Emma gives him an anchor ornament that he hangs on her small tree.

He does eventually have to go back to Storybrooke. 

Luckily, Emma’s decided that she wants to go back with him. Big city life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, what with getting shot and all. 

Killian comes back the next month and helps her pack up all her stuff. Luckily, her dad is the sheriff of Storybrooke, so she has a job as his deputy, and she doesn’t have to fear another shooting, just making sure Leroy gets home after a drunken night at The Rabbit Hole. 

In the spring she moves in with Killian. The weather is much more temperate, no heat waves rolling through, no fans to get out.

Her father tries to give him the overprotective dad speech. Emma rolls her eyes during the whole thing and Killian tries not to laugh because he knows David and Mary Margaret are thrilled she finally came home, and they’re happy she’s with Killian. It’s not like the whole town hasn’t been shipping them since they were teenagers.

When the heat finally comes through, they go to the beach. Killian takes Emma around the harbor on his boat. She laughs when he automatically goes into captain speech mode, pointing out the sights. They go down to the captains lounge and she shows him some other sights (Killian is a very lucky man indeed).

When the heat finally breaks and the leaves start to change they sit in front of bonfires at the beach, they buy Halloween candy and pass it out to the kids trick-or-treating, he gets to give Emma a birthday present in person instead of mailing it out like he’s done for the past however many years it had been. He gives her a swan pendant.

The following Christmas is a much bigger affair than the previous year. They go to Emma’s parents’ house. It looks like a gingerbread house from the outside with the amount of decorations that are up. The tree inside is huge and covered with so many ornaments Killian can’t even count them all.

“Sure beats last year’s Christmas, eh Swan?” Killian whispers to her as they take off their coats and shake the snow from their hair.

“Last Christmas I was recovering from a gunshot wound and had a broken arm. I think anything would beat that.” She’s recovered nicely from that. Just a small scar right above her left breast that Killian likes to kiss and lick when they’re alone…. and naked.

While Emma helps Mary Margaret in the kitchen, David and Killian slip out so Killian can get their presents from the car. David asks Killian what he got Emma. He tells him Emma thinks he’s getting her something for the kitchen. And he did, a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer that she inexplicably decided she had to have even though she can barely make macaroni and cheese. But there’s also a surprise in the box. A velvet box with something inside that he knows she’ll love more than the mixer.

What a difference a year makes.

  
  
  
  



End file.
